After spending 10 days in Grand Rapids, we had a couple of shorter stays to round out our time in Michigan. We spent four nights in Lansing – Michigan’s state capital – and then five nights in Detroit.
The main reason for being in Lansing was to see Shae’s aunt and the State Capitol building (although we didn’t end up getting to the latter!). For Detroit, Shae had an interview to renew her Global Entry membership, but we also found some fun things to do including The Friends Experience and Greenfield Village.
Here’s a roundup of what we did over the course of those 1.5 weeks in Lansing and Detroit.
Where We Stayed
Lansing
For our four nights in Lansing we stayed at the Candlewood Suites East Lansing. This was a great option for a couple of reasons. The first is that IHG offers every 4th night free on award stays if you have the IHG Premier, Traveler or Business credit card. That meant that we only had to redeem 67,000 points for the entire stay. I also have the IHG Select credit card which gives a 10% rebate when redeeming points, so that reduced the cost to 60,300 points or an average of 15,075 points per night.
The other reason we picked this hotel is because we were able to book directly into a one bedroom suite using points. Although all rooms at Candlewood Suites properties have a full kitchen, most room types are studio suites and so it was nice having a separate bedroom and living room.
Something else we like about staying at Candlewood Suites properties is that they have washing machines and dryers for guests to use at no charge. Many hotels don’t have guest self-laundry services, while those that do tend to charge $1.50-$3 per load, so having plentiful washing machines and dryers and having them be free is a nice feature.
Detroit
For our stay in the Detroit area we stayed at the Hyatt Place Detroit/Auburn Hills. This was another stay we booked using points; this hotel is a category 1 property in the World of Hyatt program and our dates were a mix of standard and peak pricing which meant they cost 5,000 and 6,500 points per night respectively.
Our stay didn’t get off to a great start as the air conditioning in the first room we were assigned didn’t work. Thankfully we realized this before unpacking, so we were able to get moved to a different room. The a/c issues seemed to be widespread as another guest mentioned having that problem, the lobby had portable a/c units and the a/c in the fitness room struggled so much that the mirrors fogged up while working out. Shae noticed several discarded a/c units out the back of the hotel, so hopefully those issues are being resolved.
This is a property that needs some updating. The buttons in the elevator kept getting stuck, as did the button to call the elevator on the first floor. That meant that unless someone maneuvered the button so that it was no longer stuck, an elevator would perpetually be on the first floor.
The only weights in the fitness room were two 3lb weights and a 20lb kettlebell, so they could do with having a little more choice there too, especially seeing as the fitness room only had four pieces of cardio equipment.
It seemed like they were in the process of improving things though. A new General Manager apparently started there a few months beforehand, while they had a sales consultant in who was trying to help improve the hotel. It certainly wasn’t a bad place to stay and was decent enough value considering it’s a category 1 hotel. We’d picked it as it was close to The Friends Experience in Auburn Hills that we’d be visiting, but if we returned to Detroit and wanted to stay at a category 1 Hyatt Place, we’d likely pick on of the other two options in the Detroit area.
What We Did
Lansing
Hawk Island Park
We were only in Lansing for four nights and for two of the three full days we were there both Shae and I had to work. On the other day we met up with Shae’s aunt, but we sadly didn’t make it to the Capitol building.
Before checking in at the Candlewood Suites, we did stop for lunch at Hawk Island Park which was a pretty park with a creek running through it and a small lake.
Detroit
The Friends Experience
I can’t remember how we found out about this – perhaps through a Facebook ad – but we saw that The Friends Experience was going to be in Auburn Hills (a suburb of Detroit) during our time there.
Shae and I are big fans of Friends – we grew up watching the show and have watched its episodes so many times when repeated on TV. Getting to step into the sets from the TV show was a lot of fun, particularly when recreating some of its iconic scenes. Check out this post for more about our visit to The Friends Experience.
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
While I was working one day Shae went to the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Read her full post about it here, but here’s a quick summary of her visit.
This was definitely one of the best black history museums I’ve had the opportunity to visit. It was packed full of great information, helpful staff and interesting exhibits.
The main exhibit is Still We Rise which covers black history from Africa through to today. It has a focus on the local history in Detroit which I wasn’t as familiar with, including a time called The Great Migration.
I spent about 4 hours there and it was definitely worth it.
Detroit Riverwalk
Back in 2017 – before we set off on our road trip – both Shae and I got Global Entry. We had to renew these last year, but it took forever for those renewals to be processed. Mine was done first and although it initially said I’d need to attend a renewal interview, I think the COVID-related backlog meant they decided to just forget about that as one day I randomly got an email stating an interview wasn’t needed after all and my renewal was approved.
Shae’s renewal was processed after mine and it said that she needed an interview. It was tempting to see if the same thing would happen with her, but I noticed there were some interview spaces available while we were in Detroit, so scheduling one of those seemed like a safer option to ensure her membership didn’t lapse inadvertently as it wasn’t clear how long she had before the interview had to be completed.
After going to that interview, she was due to meet up with a friend at JoJo’s Shake Bar (more about that in the next section). To kill a little time between the two, she went for a wander along Detroit’s Riverwalk.
Greenfield Village
Two of the things we’d hoped to do while in Detroit were the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village. When looking online though, it looked like those attractions would each take pretty much a full day to visit and we didn’t have enough time to do both.
As a result we decided to check out Greenfield Village. This is a mostly outdoor museum with many historic buildings such as Henry Ford’s birthplace, the Edison Homestead, Edison’s laboratory and much, much more. Check out this post for more about Greenfield Village, but the highlight for me was getting to ride in a Ford Model T.
Where We Ate & Drank
Lansing
Dusty’s Cellar
We went out to dinner with one of Shae’s aunts at Dusty’s Cellar while in Lansing. The food was pretty good; Shae and I both got their steak, but the highlight for me food-wise was their chocolate dessert.
The best part of the evening though was getting to see Shae’s lovely aunt.
Detroit
JoJo’s Shake Bar
While Shae was in downtown Detroit she went to JoJo’s Shake Bar with a friend – here’s what she thought of it.
Another opportunity to use the inKind app came about in Detroit. I met up with new friend, Kelsey, an artist I’ve been following for a while and finally got to meet in person. We decided to treat ourselves to a girl’s night at JoJo’s.
The experience was a good one. I enjoyed a cocktail and we shared an artichoke spinach dip made with brie which was a tasty change. While the food wasn’t fancy it was very tasty.
But the highlight shouldn’t be a surprise – it was the shakes. I had the Chocolate Nirvana shake with a splash of Bailey’s Irish Cream. It was fantastic!
Overall, it was a great experience and a fun place to enjoy some special company and treats.
Things We Missed
There are several things we missed out on while visiting Lansing and Detroit, so these are on the to-do list for the future if we return to either city:
Lansing
- State Capitol building
Detroit
- Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation
- Belle Isle Aquarium
- Detroit Zoo
- Detroit Institute of Arts
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